Galen Institute’s “Do No Harm” Petitions Delivered Today to Senators in Show of Opposition to Government Control Over Health Care

For more information, please contact:
Jeff Lungren, Communications Director
(703) 299-9207 or jeff@galen.org

More than 10,000 names of people who signed the Galen Institute’s “Do No Harm” petition (www.DoNoHarmPetition.org) are being delivered today to the U.S. Senate in a show of opposition to government control over the health sector.

“Support for this petition confirms what every poll shows,” stated Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner.  “The public overwhelmingly opposes the efforts of Congress and the Obama administration to dramatically expand government control over health care.  Political leaders need to listen to the American people, take a step back, and carefully consider proposals that will make health insurance coverage more affordable and improve quality.”

“Of the seven criteria the petition lists as problems, the Senate has reluctantly agreed to drop one of them -- the public plan.  But even if that stays out of the bill, the others will quickly put government, not doctors and patients, in control of health care decisions for our country for generations to come,”  she said.  “The American people do not want that and are pleading with Congress to ‘First, Do No Harm!’”

Individuals from all 50 states and the District of Columbia signed the petition, with Texas (838), Florida (759), and California (745) having the most signatories.

The Do No Harm petition is based upon the physician’s creed to “First, do no harm.”  Signatories of the petition endorse the following principles to judge any health reform proposal:

• No new government-run health insurance plan
• No one-size government-dictated package of health benefits
• No requirement on individuals to buy expensive coverage
• No new jobs-killing mandates on employers
• No federal institution controlling private health insurance
• No government intrusion into our medical privacy
• No federal government control over the practice of medicine through a federal health board, comparative effectiveness review, or other government intrusions into doctor-patient medical decision-making.

More information about the Do No Harm petition is available at www.DoNoHarmPetition.org.  More information about the Galen Institute and its Health Reform Hub website are available at www.galen.org and www.HealthReformHub.org.